December 30th in the frozen (NOT) State of Wisconsin

Here I am enjoying the outdoors on the second last day of 2006.
Pretty nice day! Steaks on the grill this evening!
And Happy New Year to all my friends and family and whoever else may read this blog.

Christmas Day

Christmas day was spent at home, just Chris, Logan and me.
It was a day of peace and rest and a few phone calls.
Mel's gift of cocktail napkins will go well with the portable bar Chris gave me.
There is not room to post everything we received but we wish to thank all of you for your thoughtfulness. Kelly & Matt, Bob and Karen and the Arizona gang - Thank You all!

Christmas Eve

Here are a few shots from Christmas Eve and Day.
Kelly, Karen, Bob and Mike came for dinner and we had a really great time.
Logan too was fully present and also enjoyed the evening.
Oh, and Grumpy Santa spurts out bits of Christmas cheer, sort of (lol).
Merry Christmas to All, and Peace on Earth.

A wintertime view of the rural countryside in Old World Wisconsin

A couple of pictures inside the general store

Chris' Favorite Old World Wisconsin Picture

Chris took this picture of the General Store in Old World Wisconsin. She is very proud of the way it came out and it is very representative of Wisconsin in the winter.

Winter Wonderland (Wonder why anyone likes it)

Okay, so I don't really appreciate Winter Wonderland, but some folks do. Mom & Joyce went to Old World Wisconsin and had a great time. Here are a couple of pictures from their day , even one showing them creating their very own Christmas Crafting Ornament.

Chick-Flick Birthday Party

As those of you who read Matt's blog know, it was Kelly's birthday. That said there had to be a Chick-Flick celebration, and there was. Enjoy a few pictures from the event.

Holdiay Lights

Here a some pictures of Mom as we worked on the holiday lights on the last decent week-end day of the season. We started out with a gnarled mess, then got them sorted, tested and finally plugged in. If it is ever decent I will try to get some night pictures to post.

Thanksgiving Day

A beautiful Autumn day in Wisconsin. We will be going to Kelly's Mom & Dad's home for dinner. In the meantime Chris thought she should share some of our bounty with out wild friends who entertain us all year in the back yard. She put out some pumpkin for the bunnies and walnuts for the squirrels and there is a nice peanut butter suet block hanging up for the birds (and so far the squirrels have not figured out how to get to it).

Chris' Birthday Party

Berniece had a party for Chris and we had a great time.
Only have a couple of pictures, so here they are.

Great Cake

So, Mom has been doing great with the CFC fund raising this year. She got a new cake pan from Mel, so do I get a cake from it, NOOOO!, First one made goes to the SSA office for the fund raiser. Oh well, I understand it was a great hit.

More Oktoberfest

We also had a great dessert table. Notice how well it is being guarded, you knew at a glance whether or not you should partake. And in the end, the candles went out, and all left with pleasant memories and full tummies.

Oktoberfest & Halloween

Mid October is a great time to party. The weather has been less than ideal and it was a great time for indoor entertainment. Combining the food and drink of Oktoberfest witht he decorations for Haloween turned out to be a terrific idea. We all had a good time.

A little fun

Okay, so when you get to a certain age it seems retirement parties are the most fun you have. Well, at least Chris looks like she was planning on having fun. We did two of them in a week. Folks we will miss at work. But it was fun.

My Birthday

My birthday (Sept.8) and Frank Cox too (Sept 11). So I had a little party to celebrate. Of course my kids were not there, but my daughter-in-law was able to make it. Unfortunately each of my children had good excuses for not being there as they were anywhere from 2000 miles to 6750 miles away. However, in their favor, each did talk to me on my birthday, even Matt who is struggling in Kuwait to maintain his patience for the long wait until he gets to return home.

Beautiful Day and lady

This afternoon was a beautiful day. We came home and Chris took a few minutes out to water the garden. Logan stayed out of the picture as well as the range of the garden hose. Chris would not spray him, but he was taking no chances. 8/23/06

Inspection Part 2

The adventure continues.

Picture 1. John, Sharon & Pete taking a brief rest at Holy Hill

Picture 2. John & Sharon at Miller Brewery Pub.

Picture 3. John, Sharon & Pete in front of the Pabst Mansion

Picture 4. The carousel at House on the Rock mesmerizes many visitors, John & Sharon are not immune.

Pre-Reunion inspection visit

John & Sharon came to visit this August. We had a terrific time. We got to see a few of the interesting sites Wisconsin has to offer, including a couple of places Chris & I had not previously visited.

Picture 1. John & Sharon at the Waukesha Public Library

Picture 2. Chris at the top of the tower at Holy Hill

Picture 3. Front entrance to the church at Holy Hill

Picture 4. Chris at the Miller Brewery Beer Garden

Picture 5. Chris in Cedarburg with new wine rack from Cedarburg Winery